Recap of October, Looking Ahead To November

Hey guys, its been about a month since a post has surfaced on this blog, however aside from a few things, October was rather run-of-the-mill as far as news goes. Here's the recap though since some big news was revealed. And, we'll also look at what's coming up in November.


The Termination of magicJack- The Florida-based MJ team is no more, as the WPS came to a unanimous decision that it would be in the league's best interest to terminate magicJack. The former Washington Freedom club, which was bought by Dan Borislow, had been moved, and its name changed. Many people had a feeling this would not bode well, and they were right. Attendance was horrifyingly low, and WPS' lack of judgement in finding a fully competent owner came to bite them, when he made frequent violations against the league's contract. In fact, there was a snafu involving the WPS players, and the playes union. After he sued the league, and later withdrew his charges, pretty much everyone suspected this was far from over, and that the issue would be revisited in the off season. And it was. Dan was not good for the league, and while I don't think he was completely wrong in some situations, and that his and WPS' relationship was not fully explained, he was a detriment to the WPS' success. I'm just going to miss that core group that lasted from 2009's Freedom days. They transformed, or grew rather, into an elite team. They were loaded with talent. Its sad that they're gone. Where will players like Wambach, Rapinoe, and Solo end up? We'll need to stay tuned to see which times they sign for! Hopefully Connecticut joins the WPS. We kinda need them to balance out the number of teams.

Pan-American Games- For those who weren't following, the Pan-Am games took place last month, and it was a short competition which mirrors the gold cup, however there are no stakes. The final was played between Canada and Brazil. The teams played to penalties, and the Canadians edged out the Brazilians in the shootout to be named Pan-American Champions for the year 2011.


FIFA Shortlist Announced- Its that time of year again folks! Voting for the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year (WPOTY for short) is underway. The shortlist of candidates was released this October, and it contains 10 players who had exceptional years. Here are the 10 players who made the cut:

Abby Wambach
Hope Solo
Alex Morgan
Sonia Bompastor
Louisa Necib
Marta
Kerstin Garefrekes
Lotta Schelin
Homare Sawa
Aya Miyama

That's just about it for October! Now let's look at what can be expected in November. Honestly, its not looking like much, but maybe a WPS player signing, or team addition will change that! Here's what's doing for this month:


WPS Free Agency Period- The Free Agency period has opened up, meaning all free agents (players with expired contracts, or those without homes) can get picked up by the remaining 5 clubs. If teams are interested in international talent, now is the time for them to sign overseas players. They can add up to 6 foreign players to their roster. The WPS draft is coming up, so teams can further srengthen their squad with fresh-out-of-college talent, when January rolls around. Hopefully we see some interesting signings in this Free agency period, which only opened up just yesterday.

USWNT vs. Sweden- This match-up between the USA and their rivals Sweden will take place on November 19th, in the state of Arizona. There is already a record crowd set to attend. 12,100 tickets have been sold, which breaks the previous record of people who came to see the USWNT in 2000, which was 12,039. The game is at 7pm MT which means its probably on at 9pm ET. The game will probably be on ESPN networks or on Fox Soccer Channel. When I find out I'll post it on here! The team has already begun their training camp in AZ, preparing them for their match against Sweden. After this match, the USWNT will have a longer training camp in December, gearing them up for Olympic qualifying in January.